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Why are there so many unopened amps, ect for sale?

I've noticed a lot, lately, especially McIntosh, ads for new amplifiers, preamps, ect in boxes never opened by non-dealers, just "regular" people. Are people hesitant to buy these. I myself was looking at a new McIntosh MC352 amp from a private seller. He said it's new and the box has never been opened. I'm rather hesitant to buy it, because why would someone buy it, never open it, and then turn around and sell it? I'm just curious. If it is truly new, would McIntosh warranty it; I'm assuming not since it's not coming from a dealer even though the warranty cards are supposed to be inside the unopened box. I truly would like to buy this amp, but am hesitant, and I'm wondering if anyone else has wondered why there are so many unopened boxes of stereo equipment for sale by non-dealers. Usually when we buy equipment from this site we know it's used equipment, unless it's coming from a dealer. Just a curious question and wondering if anyone had feelings on this subject. Thanks.
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marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
In most cases people carefully unseal the box and than seal it back if they need to sell. Certainly they have to maintain the unit's cosmetic condition as new. By default, the unit that left the territory of audio dealer is used even if it was never used.

I don't know about Mac but most of the companies will not transfer the warranty. The only company I know is Bryston but truly, since it produces the high mass products for pro- amplification movie-theater amplification they don't realy care about home audio/video consumers in terms of loosing or gaining the business as much as other manufacturers that solely produce home audio/video products.

If I were the small manufacturer such as Unison Research or EAR I wouldn't ever give a warranty on the used product because I would ruin my business.
sean
6,231 posts
 
I have no idea why people would do such a thing, nor will i fathom a guess. Whether they are legit or not could only be found out by buying them and finding out. You can pay your money and take your chances...

As to warranties being covered, Bryston and Sunfire are the only ones that i know of that would do such things. Sunfire goes by the serial number, which has the production date on it. As such, they warranty their product and not who owns it ( much like Bryston ). THAT is how it should be. Sean
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glen's avatar
glen
714 posts
 
As a rule new, used, 10/10, 9/10 whatever. If it's at least 50% off retail, and the guy has decent feedback just buy it. You really can't lose at that price point.
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ncarv
983 posts
 
Good question, but be aware when buying ANYTHING not from a dealer -- the warranty card is meaningless. It is really just a marketing tool. Whether you send it in or not is irrelevant. The only thing that counts, when you need warranty work, is that you have a receipt from a dealer to show that you bought it new. Also, many high end companies DO allow the warranty to transfer. Mark Levinson is one, there are many others.
garfish
1,840 posts
 
If the original buyer got a "closeout" or "firesale" price buy on the product (maybe a dealer that needed cash etc.), he may just see an opportunity to make a few bucks in re-sale, and of course an "un-opened" box would imply "brand new" and therefore worth more. I don't see anything wrong with that-- it's american capitalism at its best-- still as a buyer, I'd be asking the same question you are.

I bought a McCormack amp with supposedly less than 50 hours on it (not broken in yet-- if true), and the seller more or less admitted that he had gotten an excellent buy on it, tried it out, then sold it to me for a small profit. We were both happy as it was a good amp. Cheers. Craig
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